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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25500487">Tainted whispers</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nagiru/pseuds/Nagiru'>Nagiru</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Doctor Who &amp; Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(I don't know if we can say "human experimenting" if they're not humans...), (aka it's told by someone who is not necessarily telling the truth), (let's use this for the sake of safety...), Gen, I've never read any of the novels or heard any of the audios, Post-Episode: s12e10 The Timeless Children, There's some speculation on what The Other is and how it relates to the Timeless Child, Unreliable Narrator, because I literally know nothing abt the Other, it is -- and I cannot repeat it enough -- not any sort of canon-compliant, of child experimenting, of memory erasure, or even watched Classic Who, talk of child abuse, the only canon-compliance found here is to NuWho</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:21:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>675</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25500487</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nagiru/pseuds/Nagiru</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In the books of the Time Lords, the Timeless Child has never been mentioned. However, in the bare bones of their History, there is one creature that has been partially credited to their Creation, along Rassilon and Omega. Its name is lost, but there is one moniker everyone has heard before: <i>the Other</i>.<br/>The Doctor wonders which story is true, after all.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Tainted whispers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Do I know <i>shit</i> about "The Other"? Not really. I just read a bit about it on the Doctor Who's Wikia and on one or two fan fictions and decided, "well, sounds interesting, how does it work with the whole Timeless Child thing?" so... This. Apparently.<br/>Originally, this was just me writing down an idea to be used on a long fic, but, honestly? I like it as it is. I can use everything here as my own headcanon for another story, sure, but I liked this construct. The idea of having one of the Time Lords being all condescending as they "explain things" to the Doctor? Really nice, in the end.</p><p>So... I also, apparently, wrote this out on the 10th of March, before this whole quarantine thing started. I think I was reading "Prodigal Daughter" by Papapaldi at the time -- which, <i>amazing</i> story... As long as you like Thasmin. Unfortunately, I never did finish because I, for one, am not a fan of Thasmin. But the writing is spectacular, and the story itself is beautiful!<br/>But--yes, what I meant to say is: this might be a bit unbrushed and unedited, but. I just really wanted to see some explanation to make both the Timeless Child and the whole Other thing true, but. Like. At the same time. Not too true, not explicitly. Because this is someone else telling the story. It's not the Doctor. It's not the Other. It's someone else. Could even be the Master, if you want to look at it this way, but I did not initially intend it to be so, I can tell you that.</p><p>Hope you folks find this as interesting to read as I found it to write!</p><p>
  <b>Disclaimer: Doctor Who and characters do not belong to me. Thanks.</b>
</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>You are not a Time Lord, Doctor. Nor were you ever a child. No, you were always something... Other. A creature from beyond our universe -- possibly even beyond our time. You appeared to us as a child with magnificent powers, something to be studied... But do you truly believe we did not attempt to look into more than just your undying habits? We were always psychic. That's one ability that did not come from you -- don't you wonder why you were always so lousy a psychic if you gave us everything?</p>
</div><div>
  <p>No. We were psychic, and you... You were a child. It was easy to get into your head. We just wanted to make sure, you see? That we would be no collateral. That you had done your part. By your mother's request, we were going to let you be; clean your mind and allow you to live among us...</p>
</div><div>
  <p>If we hadn't found more. This creature, immortal and unliving, simmering in your mind. You yet, at the same time, not. A creature that was no child, a creature that did not even be born or die, a creature that did not live. A creature so Other it had no name, only a vastness.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>This creature... I think you know what I am talking about, don't you? The whispers, the hunger that has lived in you, all this time. The emptiness and desire inside you. The knowledge you should not have. The Other, who started all of us. We never hid our history, Doctor. We simply never told it in its entirety.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Rassilon, Omega, the Other. The presiding president of our community, the scientist who brought us life, and... You.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>In your mind, we saw so much. So many possibilities. It was Rassilon who found us our Untempered Schism, but it was only ever sought out because of you. In your mind, we saw eternity, all of time and space, and how to mold it to our interests. And we saw how to get there by ourselves; it was risky, your creature warned us, but it would be worth all the sacrifices. A glimpse of everything that was and could ever be, and we would attain comprehension far beyond our wildest dreams. All of time, space and even the universes, laid bare to our eyes. Because of the creature that has been travelling dimensions since it began, searching for something to tether it down.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>And the creature is you.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>You did not fall from your universe into ours. It wasn't us who decided to erase you, time and again.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>It was the creature, it was you, suppressed within. Searching through everything that exists, falling directly onto our arms and seeing in us an opportunity, a test. You found us by accident, but you never left by choice. You allowed us everything we did to you, everything we learned from you, and you watched. A god, curious about its own creations.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>You call us cruel, Doctor, but we are but what you made us. What you taught us. We only erased you because It whispered to us, telling us how, asking us for this small payment. After all, It was just so bored, unliving yet undying. It wanted to see what this was all about. What life was about. What Its creations would be able to do.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>And It wanted to see from within.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>So we erased you, and did so again and again, whenever It started waking again.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>And now you have no one to do so for you, not anymore.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>What do you think will happen when It awakes? Do you truly believe the Doctor will remain in existence? Or do you believe the Other will consume you, incapable of being suppressed for long?</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Oh... It will be beautiful.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>It's such a shame we will be unable to see it happen. See It again. But, perhaps... It will show pity to Its first creations. Perhaps It will give us another life. Another chance.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Who knows. You were always so compassionate, were you not, Doctor?</p>
</div>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm sorry if this is a mess. I wrote this on my phone, and most of the posting was planned on the phone, too. I'm... not a huge fan of doing things on my phone, I'll be entirely honest.<br/>Still, I wanted to get this out before I forgot about it again, so. Here it is! A very confusing story on the Other and the Doctor and the Timeless Child, haha. Hope you liked it! ^^</p></blockquote></div></div>
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